February 2012 Briefing - Orthopedics

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Orthopedics for February 2012. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Hearing Loss Linked to Falls in Those Under Age 70

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Hearing loss is associated with increased odds of falling, according to research published in the Feb. 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

MONDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Combining a disability evaluation with proactive counseling for workers with low back pain (LBP) results in a higher return-to-work rate, which is statistically significant at one year, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in Spine.

TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- A considerable number of U.S. surgeons have alcohol abuse and dependence, which is more likely in those who have recently reported major errors, are burned out, and are depressed, according to a study published in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery.

MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Intraoperative monitoring (IOM) of the spinal cord with somatosensory and transcranial electrical motor evoked potentials (EPs) during spinal surgery and certain chest surgeries can help predict surgery-related paralysis and possibly allow for intervention, according to new guidelines published by the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) in the Feb. 21 issue of Neurology.

MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage may be detected more accurately in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) using epidural collection on computed tomography myelography (CTM) rather than paraspinal radioisotope (RI) accumulation on radioisotope cisternography (RIC), according to a study published in the Feb. 15 issue of Spine.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- A new biomarker is associated with osteoarthritis severity at the hip but not the knee, according to a study published in the Feb. 10 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Female patients with and without anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and male patients with ACL injury, share a common lateral tibiofemoral geometry, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. adults were more likely to receive advice to exercise or participate in physical activity in 2010 than in 2000, but such advice is currently only received by approximately one-third of all adults, according to a February data brief issued by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Injections of skin-derived fibroblasts are safe and reduce pain in unilateral Achilles tendinosis, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- For adolescents with leg or ankle fractures, wearing a cast results in loss of bone mineral density in the hip or lower limb, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Polyethylene glycol (PEG) may be useful for repairing severed nerves, according to two experimental studies published online Feb. 3 in the Journal of Neuroscience Research.

TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Postmenopausal women receiving the aromatase inhibitor exemestane to prevent breast cancer are more likely to have bone loss, according to a study published online Feb. 7 in The Lancet Oncology.

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Massage therapy following strenuous exercise reduces inflammation and promotes the growth of new mitochondria in skeletal muscle, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- More than 4,500 children were hospitalized due to serious physical abuse in 2006, and 300 of these children died in the hospital due to physical abuse, according to a study published online Feb. 6 in Pediatrics.

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, a 16-week low-energy diet program results in independent losses of leg muscle tissue and strength, and is accompanied by improvements in body mass-normalized muscle strength, according to research published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug therapy randomized controlled trials (RCTs) funded by industry are not more likely to result in a positive outcome, according to research published online Jan. 24 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

FRIDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Computed tomography (CT) can measure altered angles of spinal curvature in relation to the esophagus of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients to help decrease the potential for injuries during insertion of thoracic pedicle screws (TPS), according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of Spine.

FRIDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of postoperative C5 nerve palsy, a well-known complication in cervical spine surgery, is very low, according to research published in the Feb. 1 issue of Spine.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Postmenopausal women are at a 35 percent increased risk of hip fractures if they regularly use proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), and that risk increases to more than 50 percent among women with a history of smoking, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in BMJ.